Diversity of Educational Experiences
VCU School of Pharmacy is committed to providing an environment of acceptance and respect for its diverse population of students, staff, administration, and faculty. We believe that students learn better in an inclusive environment that exposes them to individuals of differing perspectives, life experiences, and cultural backgrounds. Pharm.D. students at the school participate in the governance of the professional program and the profession at regional, national, and international pharmacy meetings, especially organizations emphasizing diversity (e.g., Student National Pharmaceutical Association). The School offers introductory and advanced practice educational experiences in a variety of settings serving diverse populations within institutions and in the community.
The School is advancing inclusive excellence by promoting interprofessional health care to diverse populations. Recent initiatives include:
- A partnership with Imperial Plaza and Plaza Professional Pharmacy where faculty and pharmacy staff supervise a student-managed senior care pharmacy clinic in a large retirement community
- Student and faculty participation in remote area medical (RAM) interprofessional care to underserved patients in Wise, Virginia
- Student and faculty travel on HOMBRE mission trips with other health care students to serve patients in the Dominican Republic and Honduras
- A collaborative educational grant between VCU's schools of nursing, pharmacy, medicine and social work to provide chronic disease management and medication management to seniors living in a Richmond facility
- An academic-community partnership with Richmond's Daily Planet Clinic to strengthen and enrich the lives of underserved populations by reducing disparities related to medication use
- A training and research grant between the School, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center in Christiansburg, Aetna Healthcare and CVS/Caremark to provide medication management in 23 rural Virginia counties